


I Had A Dream About You

by EllaPreuss



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Cuties, F/F, Fluff, Kinda AU?, Midnight Drive, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 18:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15563487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllaPreuss/pseuds/EllaPreuss
Summary: Prompt: It's way past midnight and we are both awake and trying to escape the reality, so we go for a midnight drive. I’m pretending not to love you and you are still being oblivious.This is my take on this prompt. Set after 1x06, but before 1x07.





	I Had A Dream About You

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fic in SO long. But I love these two. This is slightly AU bc... you'll see.   
> Also, I hate the title, but I didn't know how to call this, and I just chose sth off the top of my head.

Outside her bedroom, the world is quiet. Eerily so. It makes the sound of her thoughts all the more deafening. Because it is crystal clear now, what she's been suspecting for a while. The feeling has lodged itself in her heart and she's sure it won't go. 

But, mulling it over, sensing her heart pick up speed at the thought of  _ her,  _ she thinks she doesn't want to get rid of this feeling. Even if her chances with her are completely null, why would she want to be rid of this new discovery about herself? 

One among the many she's experienced in the past few days. And possibly the least traumatising one. 

Her fingers trace the links on her bracelet, the metal warm against her skin. She's been thinking about taking it off for a couple hours now. To keep exploring how it feels to be without it. She remembers the panic as she felt herself falling to the abyss, Chase’s hands failing to catch her. 

It comes back to her, how the air had suddenly rushed into her lungs, almost as if they could now hold twice as much air, throwing her up into the wind, a freaky glowing balloon shaped like a girl. Her skin had warmed up, an army of ants dancing all over her, pulling on her cheeks, tracing a smile on her face. 

Then, on the rooftop, hands where she didn't want them, and lips belonging to the wrong person, the one it would make sense for her to want. 

Karolina sighs, one arm covering her eyes while her other hand fumbles on her nightstand. Fingers grab her phone, bring it into view and the screen tells her it is past one AM. Still, sleeping feels like a foreign concept to her right now. Instead, she opens up her Instagram, doing a quick search. The app already knows what she's looking for. She's been going to her profile so often these days that the system already learnt to show it to her first. 

Karolina sees the pink ring around the profile pic and clicks on it, intrigued. She checked her stories an hour ago and there was nothing new there. It quickly opens up to a dark photo of Nico’s bedroom, the light coming in through the blinds casting long shapes across the bordeaux walls. There's no caption, but there rarely is one in her stories. 

Karolina loves that Nico lets her pictures say more than her words. 

The timestamp on the story tells her that her friend must be suffering from insomnia too. Ten minutes ago, it reads. And because she's learnt that she'd much rather be near her than not at all, she clicks on their message history, sends a single word as an idea crystallises in her brain. 

>hey

Nico responds all of five seconds later, making Karolina's heart skip a beat or two. 

-hey you. can't sleep? 

Scooting further up on her pillows, Karolina wonders what to say. Her teeth trap her bottom lip, worrying it as she types. 

>nope. it's just. you know

-yeah. i still can't believe that my dad was having an affair with chase’s mom

-wbu? why can't you sleep? 

_ Oh, you know, just thinking about you, about how your lipstick must taste like, the sounds you would make if I kissed you behind your ear, your hands on my waist as you pull me closer when you kiss me back.  _

But of course she doesn't write that. Those thoughts are for her alone. Instead, she sends:

>i could tell you but i think it'd be better if i showed you

-??? 

>i’m coming to get you. be ready in 30 

And, just as she thought she would, Nico types back an “okay”. No questions, no calling Karolina crazy for suggesting they slip out at this hour. Just okay. As if her trust in Karolina is so deep, that Nico knows she won't do anything that would hurt her. 

 

And maybe she combs her hair again, fixing it in a braid and letting some loose strands fly about her face before slipping out of the house, a smile on her lips.

* * *

 

Nico is already waiting for her at the end of her driveway, sitting on the curve, arms crossed over her dark hoodie. She gets up as she sees Karolina’s dad's car coming, the lights illuminating her small figure for a moment. Pulling up beside her, Karolina feels her eyes about to pop out of their sockets. She's pretty sure this is Nico all right. She looks like her Nico, but at the same time not, that it is bewildering. 

Left at home are the tights and puffy skirts, exchanged for a simple black pair of leggings. Her usual fancy, stocky shoes must be stored away, black Converse in their place. The most mainstream black Adidas hoodie hangs on her shoulders, one or two sizes too big for her, but looking amazing anyway. 

But what Karolina loves about this look most of all, what she is positive she will carry home with her, the new feature of her future dreams, is the fact that Nico’s hair is loose, running over her shoulders, half obscuring her face. 

Karolina has to look away to swallow as Nico enters the car and shuts the door. With her in the car, she takes the first exit and heads for the highway, hoping that the poor lighting helps her conceal her blooming blush.

It's been  _ so long  _ since she saw Nico this unguarded. She doesn't want to read too much into this, but why else would Nico show up without her armour if not for the fact that she must feel comfortable around Karolina? Again. As if nothing has happened these past two years. 

“Well?” asks Nico, bringing her back down to Earth. She takes her eyes off the road, chancing a look her way. The only make-up she can spot on her face is that dark lipstick that has become a staple of hers over the years. 

Karolina will deny it till the day she dies, but damn, she's grown to love the way it makes her lips look. 

Nico raises her eyebrows, turning to face her fully, a smirk curving her mouth. “I've gotta admit, when goody-two-shoes Karolina Dean asked me to sneak out of my house at two AM, I just had to say yes. That's not something I ever thought I'd live to see. Guess your inner rebel really is coming to life.”

Karolina hopes the smile she gives Nico is convincing, and not a betrayal of the mess her thoughts are right now because  _ holy shit that look in Nico’s eyes is  _ doing things _ to her. _

Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, Nico says, “So what did you want to show me? I'm intrigued.”

“You'll see when we get there,” she tells her in a singsong voice. 

“And where are you taking me?”

Her own eyebrows lift as she smiles with pursed lips. 

“Let me guess,” Nico says. “I'll see when we get there.”

* * *

 

When Karolina parks in the small parking lot next to the Observatory, Nico looks around confused. 

“Um, you do know the Observatory is closed now, right? There's nothing here. I thought you wanted to show me something.”

There's no one for miles all the way up here. Okay, maybe there's a guard in the building, but Karolina knows how to hide. She loves coming up here. 

“I know what I said. Come on,” she tells Nico, opening her door and climbing out of the car. “We have to go around back.” 

“Not that I'm not all for this new side of you, but we're not actually gonna break into the Griffith Observatory, right?” 

Karolina laughs at that, a clear, bright laugh that makes Nico stop in her tracks and regard her friend with curiosity. The trace of a smile blooms on Nico’s face and Karolina is suddenly overcome with gratitude. Yeah, her life is in chaos at the moment, but it's such a lovely night and she's here with a pretty girl. She can't ask for more right now. 

“I meant to the side of the building, where we're not standing in front of the main door,” she explains. 

Nico looks relieved. 

Karolina guides her to the east side of the observatory, the city sprawling with life below them. Tonight, the sky is clear and the stars are bright, and to be honest, it's almost a little too perfect. 

The hairs on Karolina’s neck stand up as Nico walks closer, almost brushing her arm with hers. She has to remind herself to breathe, as she seems to have momentarily forgotten how. But Nico is standing  _ so close _ that Karolina can't help but think back to a couple of days ago, when they were in her room and she leaned in, Nico waiting to see what her next move would be. 

She hadn't moved away. That's what Karolina is choosing to hold on to. Even if she's with Alex right now, something in Nico’s brain must be telling her a different story, with another main character in his stead. 

“I haven't come up here in forever,” says Nico in a small voice. Almost as if she doesn't want to break this spell surrounding them. “Is this what you wanted to show me?” 

Karolina steels herself. She's not too worried about what Nico might think of her, but it is kind of like putting it all out there, and she knows Nico will have questions she doesn't even have the answers to. 

So, she says, “Not really.” She pauses, turns to face her. “The other night, at the gala, you and Alex were doing your thing, but I got… Upset.” Thinking about it now is bringing back that feeling, and it's all she can do to wrap her arms around herself. 

But then Nico’s hand is on her back rubbing circles, and the cold dissipates, making way for the heat rushing up from her bones. “Hey, it's okay. It's fine to be upset. I think all of us are right now. And if we just bottle it up, it's gonna grow and become this ugly thing that will hurt us even worse.” 

_ God, she wants to kiss her. She is right there, too. Karolina is dying to learn the taste of her lips.  _

But that's not why she brought her here. 

So she smiles instead, moving away, feeling Nico’s hand drop. “I know that now,” she says. “Anyway, it wasn't my greatest moment, and thank God Chase was there and…”

Before she can say more, though, Nico interrupts her, hands in the air. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘Thank God Chase was there’? What if he hadn't, what are you saying?” Brow furrowed and mouth open, Karolina sees her chest rising and falling tremulously, her hands still up in between them. 

She takes a step towards Nico, takes her hands in her own. She's pretty sure she knows what this is. Nico just couldn't stand losing someone else after losing Amy, and now having her whole reality shattered, that's all. 

Nico would be this upset over any one of her friends getting hurt, Karolina thinks. But then she sees tears pooling in Nico’s eyes, and knows she needs to reassure her fast. 

“Nico. Hey, I'm okay,” she says in a whisper. Her hands squeeze Nico’s once before letting go. “Nothing bad happened. Just the opposite, actually.”

“Kar…” Nico’s voice comes out anguished. It's all wrong, and not at all why Karolina wanted them to come here. 

“Do you trust me?” Karolina asks, eyes wide. 

At Nico’s simple nod, her hand flies to her wrist, taking off her bracelet without breaking eye contact with her. 

The warmth that surges in her core travels through her veins all over her body, as air rushes into her lungs, fresh and cool. Immediately, Nico’s expression shifts to one of awe. Karolina can almost swear her heart beats faster in this form. But that could just be a reaction to being this close to Nico, too. 

Fingertips trace the space in front of her, drawing figures in the halo that encapsulates her. Manipulating light. 

Nico looks so beautiful under her shine… 

“I still can't get over this. You are like… A rainbow! Or a small sun. Starlight and diamonds,” says Nico under her breath, eyes huge and smile even bigger. She grabs Karolina’s wrist, brings her hand up for inspection. Karolina hopes she can't feel her erratic heartbeat under her fingers. “Seriously, you are beautiful.” And the way she says it, her voice full of wonder, almost overwhelms Karolina. 

She swears it's joy what makes her go airborne. 

Nico half screams, half laughs as Karolina floats in front of her. Her cheeks hurt from smiling so wide, but she couldn't care less. She circles Nico, flying a couple of feet off the ground. The look on Nico’s face is so worth it. Like a little kid getting what they wanted for Christmas, Nico is grinning up at her, making all the bad things that have been happening to them up to this point go away. 

“ _ This _ is what you wanted to show me?” Nico screams, because, honestly, who can have a normal conversation when their friend has just shown you they can fly? 

And of course, thinks Karolina,  _ of course _ Nico wouldn't have a bad thing to say about this. Nothing bitter or jealous, just plain happiness. Nico’s never been one to judge, and it makes Karolina’s crush on her grow all the more. 

“Is it super weird?” Karolina asks, still smiling. 

“So weird! I love it!”

“Can I try something with you?” 

“Sure!” 

Karolina will cherish this night forever, along with the little yelp of surprise Nico gives her as she comes around and lifts her up, hands under Nico's arms. Either Nico is lighter than she thought, or her body is stronger than it looks. Lifting Nico is practically effortless, helping her lift off into the night, feeling Nico's hands grabbing at her for support. 

It takes them a minute to get the hang of it, to get used to not having the ground beneath their feet, and for Nico to trust that the other won't let her fall. They don't go too high up, not interested in attracting unwanted attention. 

Nico's laughter is bubbly and such a contrast to her broody exterior, that Karolina can't help but laugh along. She's already storing away the way Nico's body feels close to hers, the smell of her hair, the sound of her giggles. 

That information will be crucial in the days to come, when all will seem lost, when these memories will be the only thing tiding her over. 

But for now, they are okay. Let someone else worry about tomorrow. 

**Author's Note:**

> My knowledge of the Griffith Observatory comes from Wikipedia, so. Forgive me if I that messed up.  
> I really wish they addressed Karolina's strength more in the show; in the comics she's always picking people up and flying off with them.   
> This is me trying to get back into writing fic. I still want to finish my POI/Shoot one, but that's coming slowly.   
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
